After its theatrical release, it received positive reviews from critics.
Sify wrote, "
Inam is a charming film that pulls at your heart strings. Santosh has made a film on a very sensitive subject, but has handled it beautifully without any propaganda, preaching or twisting of facts" and called it "very good". Behindwoods gave it 3.25 stars out of 5 and called it "a disturbing tale, brilliantly captured".
Baradwaj Rangan from
The Hindu wrote, "Sivan is happiest when concocting near-surreal imagery that hints at mood rather than tells a story. The big scenes, on the other hand, don’t work as well. The slice-and-dice vignettes approach results in broad characters rather than complex people capable of holding together a sustained narrative. The effort to humanise them (at least cinematically) through songs doesn’t work".
The Times of India gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5 and wrote, "
Inam is very much topical and mostly presents a neutral perspective on the last phase of the brutal civil war. It wants to show how war can tear apart the moral fibre of humans, and how it affects even those who aren't involved in the fighting...Yet, somehow,
Inam stops short of being a hard-hitting film. It is very reluctant to spell things out, which...makes everything a little hazy, as the context isn't firmly established...there are times when we can see Sivan leaning a little too much on his visuals to create the desired impact".
Hindustan Times wrote, "Although the plot is wafer thin, Sivan’s script includes an array of anecdotes to keep the movie moving. If there is a flip side to
Inam, it lies in its utter melancholy. Despite, Sivan’s efforts to inject a bit of joy through songs and wit, the film refuses to rise above excruciating sorrow".
The New Indian Express wrote, "
Inam is a pretentious piece of work, one is not exactly sure what the director wishes to convey. The film is neither entertaining nor thought provoking. There is a total lack of clarity of purpose, focus and sensitivity".
IANS gave it 4 stars out of 5 and wrote, "
Inam comes straight from the heart of Santosh Sivan. It deserves to be accepted, embraced and celebrated".
The Hollywood Reporter in its review wrote, "Romancing in slow-motion; musical numbers ill-fitting the narrative flow; high-octane shootouts laced with the odd comic touch; a highly-strung, tragic final half hour intended to stir emotions – Santosh Sivan’s latest offering boasts of all the hallmarks of commercial Indian cinema, which should allow the Kerala-born director to continue the fine run he has had in the past few years...but more focus and context would have helped the film live up to its seemingly more historical-epic title of
Ceylon".
Gulf News wrote, "Director Santosh Sivan has crafted his characters with great care and their unique traits set each one apart. Matched with a laudable performance by the cast,
Inam keeps the audience engaged. With Sivan’s signature on every frame,
Inam is sheer poetry". ==References==